Jackie's POV

I yawned as I looked at my pocket watch. Damn, 7:30 in the morning? When I only got six hours of sleep? And now I had to go and pick up a prince in stubborn's aura? By God, the captain really had it hard on me. Wonder if he plays favorites because his other first mate is his daughter.

Enough of my banter! I needed to get to our secret chambers to get Dylan out of there.

After adjusting my coat and rubbing my eyes of their sleep, I walked off the deck and to the beaches. I inhaled the scent of the sea, enjoying the saltiness in the air. It woke me up a bit from the impact to my eyes, and I stood up straighter and walked to our secret area. It was so secretive that I don't even know the proper directions to it. I only know where to turn by looking at the scenery. Mainly because there were apparently seven different ways of getting there.

I went the shortest way... which ended up being straight ahead.

I made my way to an old alcohol cellar of a bar. It smelled rancid when I opened the hatch, but I put on my bandanna and walked in. It was damp and dark, but by feeling the walls, I was able to maneuver about towards the prince's cell. I then heard something that made me go to a complete stop.

Crying. Sobbing even.

"I'm sorry..." the cries whispered. "I never knew... please don't leave..."

What was this prince dreaming of? Did he wake up in the middle of the night and go back to sleep? I listened more closely to get my way to him. I made sure I made no noise whatsoever in case he was trying to trick me.

"Stop..." he continued. "I would sacrifice myself... Coora..."

I felt a lump in my throat form. He was feeling guilt. By God, he still remembers the girl who his father harassed years ago? She's the most feared among the seven seas, and he is just remembering how his father-

Calm it, Jackie. This is no time to let your emotions get to you now.

I quickly felt around for a lock as I reached cold, metal bars. I grabbed my keys from my pocket, and I unlocked it. The door let out a creak, but at this point, I'm not interested in keeping silent.

"Aye," I said as I barely saw a silhouette of the prince trembling. "Wake up you bastard."

I really didn't want to use any energy this morning, so I just lightly shoved his shoulder with my boot. He quickly jolt upwards, and up against the wall, wincing as he felt the impact. He slowly opened his bagged eyes as he glared at me.

"What the hell do you want from me?" He asked.

I said nothing as I gained the courage and strength to get out my sleep and grab Dylan by his tied up hands. He groaned and attempted to get out of my grasp, but I held on tightly.

"Stop trying so hard to get out and just calm down," I said with a growl. "No one can save you once we get out."

"Oh yeah?" He said. "How so? Smells like a cellar from a bar in here. People will notice."

"No they won't." I kicked him, so he fell to the ground and picked him up again. "Remind you of who you are dealing with."

He growled in response as I smacked him in the head to make him go. When I came outside, people gave me a few stares, but I knew what they were thinking. Dylan's eyes were swollen red, he walked with a bit of a slip, and I made it so his eyes faced the ground. I was bringing a drunken friend home from a rough night, and I was a good lad to do so.

When we got the the ship, now safe with the crew, I let Dylan rise his head. By God, he yelled with a great might.

"What do you want from me, damn it!" He shouted this time, trying to get out of my grip.

By God, I should've given him another smack before we left. He's getting over that drug that one of the captain's spies put in his champagne back at the castle. That and the smell of that awful cellar.

"Will you just shut it?" I yelled at him. "I thought you'd be less complicated!"

"Excuse me?! What about yourself!"

I rolled my eyes and groaned as we took Dylan to the ship. He was way more obnoxious than I recalled from the stories. It seemed like the Royal attitude got to him a small bit.

"Jorge," I then said, turning to face him and remembering his reward. "You did well." I threw him a bag of gold. "Now, go and head back. Don't want our cover being blown."

"Yes sir!" He said, nodding to me. "Thank you."

I waved him off, and I saw Dylan giving him a glare. "Jorge?"

"Ah, didn't see your precious butler, George, as a Spanish spy working for pirates, eh?"

"I trusted him." He looked to me. "And to think that he was with a pirate the whole time."

"Never trust anyone in a castle," I said, turning him to face the ship. "Did your father ever tell you that?"

"He told me to not trust people like you."

"Hmm. Too bad he didn't teach you the brutalities and betrayals in Royalty."

As soon as we got onto the deck, I caught sight of the captain talking to another crew member. I whistled him over to us, and when he saw what I had for him, he smiled and dismissed the conversation he was having. As he came over, I shoved Dylan into his grip, smirking a bit as he stumbled.

"Ye did good, Lad," he said, looking at Dylan with a good stare. "Ye struck gold today."

"Does that mean that I proved myself to you again, Captain?" I asked.

"Ye did." He told some of his men to take Dylan and they started taking him away to search for any weapons on 'em. "And I'm sure she would be proud of ye, too..."

He clapped an arm on my shoulder, giving a genuine smile behind his beard and mustache. I smirked back, but he then laughed, making me a bit confused.

"But there's always one test after another," he added. "And that is to see whether ye can go through with your plan of not hurting the lad while he's stayin' with ya."

My eyes widened. I took my bandanna off of my face with shock. "Hold on!" I said. "You're saying that I need to stay close to this Royal?"

"Well, ye did say for no one to hurt 'em too much since he is Royalty," he said, shrugging. "And no one on this ship goes without layin' at least a stab wound on the prisoners. So I know ye may pull your sword on him, but at least you'll stay true to your own word." With that, he tipped his hat to me and left.

I cannot believe this man! First he says I did well, and now he wants me to look after a little prince? By God! Well, this is what I get for wanting Dylan to be kept untouched... mostly. Don't think that I won't pick on him from time to time.

Anyways, we were headed for our island, and boy oh boy were these tides moving with us. They were usually crashing against the ship's front. I'd laugh if they were only being kind to us because the prince was here. That or it was still thawing from the cold winter.

The trip took until nightfall to get there due to the ice that was still surrounding our island. As soon as we all reached the docks, the only thing that wasn't frozen, all of our men just collapsed on the snowy beaches. I wouldn't blame them. It's tough being on the seas for so long. Even though the ocean was my favorite thing in the whole world, it did get annoying when it takes forever to just go twenty to thirty kilometers.

If you're wondering where we are, we're not in Ireland. These islands are privately owned by the captain and his crew. No one knows this place exists because it's not on any of the maps in the world. Let me tell you, it's a pain in the arse to keep this place a secret among our lads.

As much as I'd like to be with the men on the shores, I had to drag Dylan to my home. I went down into the prison where Dylan was pacing back and forth in his cell. I put the bandanna over my face so I could be more invisible. As soon as my boots started clacking on the wooden floors, he looked up to face me. I saw him slide his hand on the ground and adjust his sleeve.

"Alright," I said. "You are coming with me."

As I unlocked his cell, he spoke. "And where exactly am I going?" he said, anger in his voice.

"That's confidential," I replied, coming in and grabbing him. "Now you better move forward if you don't want to get stabbed."

I took my sword out and kicked him to get him moving. I know I said that I wouldn't want him to get too hurt, but my kicks won't do anything bad to him unless he's got a bad back to complain about. Besides, if it got him moving, that's all that matters at this point.

I moved him from the ship to the docks where many of the crew members started laughing and trying to throw food at the prince. I gave 'em a look which made them all stop laughing. I smirked until I noticed Dylan looking at me through the corner of his eye. I flicked my head towards him, wondering why he was looking at me that way, and he quickly turned his head to face in front of him.

When we finally reached my home, I pushed him in and locked the door. I put the key in a secret compartment within the door, making sure Dylan wasn't watching. I sighed as I dragged Dylan into the basement and into the cell I had for him. If I wanted to keep a good eye on him, he'd stay here. He can't get out without the key to my home anyway.

"Don't get too comfy here," I warned as I untied his ropes which left some marks on his wrists. "I'm not always going to be nice to you."

"Why would you be nice to me?" he asked while he rubbed them gently. "I thought all pirates were cruel and unforgiving."

"Well, we're not like most pirates," I replied, putting my and hat on the coat rack next to the stairs. "Besides, I don't kill someone for no reason. Especially someone like you."

He was silent for a while before he chuckled and spoke. "Ah. I see what's going on."

I looked back at him. "What do you mean?"

"You have a soft side. You don't want to see me get hurt because of something."

"Yes. I am not going to just kill royalty like an ignorant mutt. People like you are not to be taken lightly. You run a whole damn country full of soldiers"

Dylan gave me a look. I felt a bit self conscious about myself, so I gave him a glare. He just kept on staring at me, studying me in a way. When he wasn't responding, I merely turned and began to  climb the steps.

"You seem to be literate," he then said out of nowhere. "Makes sense for how you dressed up as a woman so easily. Literate folk are clever people."

"Should I not be literate?" I asked, looking back at him, a bit shocked by how he realized the woman was me.

"There's just a lot of mystery behind you, Jackie," he said. "If that's even your real name. Why the hell do you wear a bandanna over your face when your eyes and hair give away who you are?"

"Because," I replied.

"Because why?"

"It's personal. Something that Royals aren't."

"We are personal!" Dylan said, sounding a bit offended. "I have a sister and brother that I love dearly!"

I then stopped for a moment. Atza and Jack. I remember the both of them at the party. Atza was so beautiful with her blue dress, and Jack was very charming. Seems that the Royal attitude didn't rub off on them.

"I saw them," I said, leaning against the wall. "You three do seem like a happy family. Especially with Princess Atza there."

"We are. Ever since our mother died when we were young, we've promised each other-despite our differences and ranks- we would stay together."

I never knew. I knew that Jack was the king's illegitimate son, but I didn't know that he would be considered a lower rank. He's still Royalty. I remember Atza saying that he'd have to be legitimized to become king, but how would her father think of that?

See? Royalty is an arse even when it comes to their own children.

"What's it like with siblings, anyway?" I suddenly asked, looking to him.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Just curious," I said, walking in front of his cell. "I've never had a family to go back to and trust." At least, not at the moment. "Atza seemed like an amazing sister, Jack was very kind to me, and I hear so many stories from the crew of their childhood memoirs. I'm an outlier when it comes to that."

There was an odd silence from Dylan. I looked at him, studying him a bit. His face had a slightly sympathetic look. He still felt sympathy compared to his father. I'm guessing that side of Dylan came from his mother.

"Well..." he finally said. "They're a handful." He leaned against the wall of his cell. "But you know that you have someone to go to when you need it most. You have your happy moments along with some sad ones, but that's what makes your relationship grow stronger." He looked at me. "Now answer me this: how does it feel not having family?"

I sighed and felt my hand go to my neck but found nothing. I acted as if my shirt's collar was getting irritating, and I let my hand slide to my side as I remembered that my locket wasn't with me. Her locket wasn't with me.

"I had a family once, but I was too young to remember the good moments. I came to this crew when I was only a young lad." I looked at him. "To answer your question, having no family basically means that you're on your own. No one to trust, no one to go to for help. It's all independent."

"Sounds stressful," he said.

"You get use to it."

The thought of my locket still pained me. I couldn't get over it. I should probably get some rest. I sighed and went up the stairs, leaving the prince in his cell.

Dylan's POV

I still can't believe how much Jackie looked and sounded like a woman! I know that probably shouldn't be the first thought when your in a murky prison cell, but it is quite a feat. I mean, even his stance was like a woman's! And while he was speaking to me, he held the posture of a man! He even had the masculine features! How does one hide those and turn into a woman?

At the moment, I would have to stop these thoughts. I was just stuck in this cell until further notice.

I then felt my eyes beginning to feel heavy. I struggled to keep them open, but I couldn't fight the urge. I know that I fell asleep because I had a rude awakening the next morning.

"Rise 'n shine, Princess," Jackie's voice came as ice cold water hit my face.

"By God!" I coughed as the salt water went into my mouth. "Not even a descent awakening?"

"Who do you think you are?" He asked, throwing the bucket aside. "You're a prisoner! Not some Royal in a castle."

I sighed as I got up. My back and neck were aching from the cold floors of the cell. I put my hand on the back of my neck, and when Jackie opened the cell, he laughed.

"Royalty really is soft," he said, grabbing my arms and tying my wrists.

"Where are you taking me now?!" I said. "Haven't you taken me far enough?"

"Don't worry. We aren't going far."

As he was pushing me up the steps, I spoke. "Why would you do such a thing to your country? You're an Englishman."

Jackie stayed silent. Huh. He didn't have an answer for once. That was interesting. It seemed that England was possibly a touchy subject?

"No answer?" I said with fake shock. "What grudge do you have against the country?"

"Don't test me," he growled, making me face him. "Just because we had a normal conversation yesterday doesn't mean that we can have one today. I was just in a good mood."

I smirked. "I don't know. I think you were in a pretty good mood when I was whispering in your ear the other night."

Jackie's hands went into fists as he pushed me out of the building. The sun's light was a bit too bright for me. It made it worse that it was winter, and the sun was extra bright. And by God was it freezing.

Just then, I saw a man come towards us. It seemed like the captain. I remember that face with hatred. He looked so familiar yet so alien. I sighed as he came up to Jackie and just studied me like a prized possession. Probably because I was a prized possession.

"Jackie," he said. "I need ye to take this lad back to with you to the other island."

I felt Jackie's hand tense around the back of my collar. "Why? It will take half of the day with all this ice!"

"The other island is where other prisoners are. After all..." he gave me another stare. "He's your responsibility and heir to the throne."

Heir to the throne. I gulped at that. I never truly wanted to rule over England. It all seemed too much for me. I am not exactly the brightest when it came to decisions, and I am reckless. For God's sake, I made Jackie, the first mate of this crew, mad about a touchy subject! I honestly think that I'd be better off with letting Jack or Atza ruling. Besides, both of them were more educated on Royalty than I.

"Alright," Jackie agreed. "Very quickly, make sure that the building doesn't have any secret escape pods." He gave me a smack in the back of the head. "This one is trouble."

The captain smiled as he went inside the building. Now that I take a better look at it, the place seemed like a home. Was it where Jackie slept? Whatever it was, I didn't exactly get long to think about it.

Mainly due to the fact that I was now on the ship with Jackie. There were only five other members of his crew on board: the captain being one of them. He treated me as if I were a sort of assassin that would grab the enemy's sword and attack.

And I probably would do that if I wasn't tied by another rope that was close to the captain's wheel and not near the weaker members.

"Mind if I ask you something?" I said to Jackie while sitting down.

"Not exactly one to stay quiet, eh?" He said while looking at his touch watch. "It's only been ten minutes."

"Yes, well, Royalty isn't exactly suppose to stay quiet."

Jackie sighed with annoyance as he put the watch away. "If it'll keep you calm. What is it?"

"How long have you had that watch for?"

He looked back at me, a bit confused, and raised his brow. "Out of all things, I expected you to ask something more personal. Not about my watch."

"Well, I'm not in the mood to tease."

He looked back to the sea as he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I've had it for five years. It was my father's."

"Was he from England?"

"No..." He looked at the position of the sun and turned the wheel. "He was a Spanish sailor that worked for the king."

"Really?" Maybe this is where he got his grudge for England. "Mind if I ask his name?"

"Yes. I do mind."

That was a failure.

"Alright, next question," I said, thinking of something else.

"What is this? Bother the first mate?"

"Seems like it. Plus, you offered." I then thought of an interesting one. "How old were you when you realized you loved the sea?"

His posture changed. It's almost as if he actually started to think about the question. He looked into the sky and brought his head back down to sea level when he answered.

"I was very young. I remembered when I use to swim in the Irish Sea in the summer," he answered. "The waves were so wild, and I use to feel like I was flying when I got to the top of them." He looked to me, a bit of his guard lowering. Those same eyes as Jaclyn. Ugh. "Do you love the ocean, or is it just something that makes you seasick?"

I smirked. "Well, I haven't gotten seasick yet, so it means more to me than just something that makes my stomach upset."

"Suppose that's true. So what is it to you then?"

I looked out to the sea. It wasn't completely frozen, but the one thing that came to my mind was skating. Along the ice, Jack and I use to glide across the surface with these boots. They had these blades attached to the bottoms of them. But it was very difficult to use them due to the ground acting like butter.

"I enjoy skating on the icy surfaces of the ocean," I said. "My brother and I use to skate in the winter."

Jackie nodded as he kept his focus on the sea in front of him, carefully navigating through the ice. "That's a favorite of mine as well."

He's seemed to have softened. Who knew just asking the right questions would open someone up a little? I'm just shocked that he even wanted me to talk after what I said that morning. Then again, he kind of thought of it as a way to get me to be less jittery.

"Jackie!" One of the men said from the deck. "There's too much ice to go forward!"

"Are you kidding me?!" He yelled. "By God, we're never getting there on time!"

"It seems that we'll have to wait 'till midday!" The man said.

"Great," Jackie mumbled. "It's going to take the entire day at this rate."

"I guess this is more questions for me?" I asked.

"Don't even think of it." That guarded face was back. "I'll be in my quarters. Don't ask anyone for anything. They'll murder you. Especially the captain.

"And you trust them to not do anything to me?

He looked to me. "No. But then again I don't care, do I?"

He left me in the cold while he went into his warm, warm quarters. Damn pirates.

At least I got to open him up a bit.

A/N: DAMN BOI! YOU JUST GOT-

Dylan: What's going on here?

OH JESUS! *Hides behind desk* The fuck?! Where did you come from?

D: Ummm... I was told that I was suppose to show up here after I was kidnapped in the story.

Oh... right. *Gets up* Sorry. Kinda forgot.

D: It's alright.

Hmmm... *Walks around Dylan, studying him*

D: Yes...? *Looks at me oddly*

*Scans Dylan before speaking* No wonder Coora had a liking for you.

D: Coora? What are you talking about? Is she here?

Oh, never mind. You'll know later.

D: ...Alright?

Don't judge. You'll know. *Faces the audience* PEACE BITCHES!

D: What is going on?